


A Little Forgiveness

by wintershelter



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, M/M, Minor Carol Danvers/James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Reconciliation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-07
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-07-08 05:37:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15923981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wintershelter/pseuds/wintershelter
Summary: Tony is back on Earth. He is grieving and trying to deal with Thanos' victory. He definitely did not expect to meet Carol Danvers and come face to face with people he had spent two years avoiding but whoever said Tony wasn't adaptable?A post Infinity War fix it fic.





	A Little Forgiveness

It had taken Tony a week to get back to Earth.

Nebula had given him a ride, but had shown no interested in staying and Tony didn't know enough about her to protest her leaving.

She had dropped him off at Avenger's compound.

It was completely empty and looked like it had been empty for a while.

Tony blinked past the tears, before hitting Rhodey's number. He felt the start of panic start to squeeze his chest because god, it was all coming true, his vision of everyone dead and him, the sole survivor.

The phone rang once... Twice...

_Please be okay please be okay oh god pleasebeokay-_

The line picked up after three rings.

“Tones?”

Tony felt the tears finally slip free from his eyes and his knees went weak with relief, putting a hand on a tabletop to steady himself. “Rhodey. It's so good to hear your voice.”

He heard a shaky, relieved breath through the line. “Me too, Tony. God, we thought you were dead. Bruce told us you hopped onto Maw's ship to take on Thanos yourself. We thought he fucking killed you.”

Tony didn't want to talk about what had happened yet, let alone think about it. “What about Pepper and Happy? Are they okay?”

There was silence across the line. “I haven't been able to contact either one of them.”

Tony closed his eyes sharply, feeling guilt and grief rush through him like a freight train. Pepper and Happy were about to get _married_ and now- Tony had to clear his throat a few times but his voice still sounded off to his ears when he asked, “Where are you?"

“In Wakanda. The rest of us tried to fight off Thanos and his army there, but...”

Tony swallowed, memories of Peter clinging to him jumping to the forefront of his mind. “By the rest of us, you mean...”

“The Avengers... Or those of us who survived.”

Tony let out a breath, not wanting to ask who was among the dead and who wasn't. He might really have a panic attack then. “Can you and the others get to Avenger's compound?”

“Yeah, we can borrow one of King T'Ch- I mean, Queen Shuri...” Rhodey cleared his throat. “We can borrow one of her jets. Be there in six hours or so.”

Tony nodded, feeling his stomach tightening at the confirmation of T'Challa's death. “Right, okay. Get here as soon as you can.”

“All right, Tony. God, I'm so glad you're alive, man.” Rhodey said, letting out a shaky breath.

“Me too. I'll talk to you soon.”

Tony hung up, feeling a little bit better knowing Rhodey was alive, but then felt the sharp sting of loss as he remembered Strange and Quill and Pepper and Happy and Peter, oh god, _Peter._

He was just a fucking kid.

Tony dug his heels of his hands into his eyes harshly, willing back the tears and feeling his breath start to quicken.

God, how in the fuck was he going to last six hours before Rhodey got here?

It took Tony a moment to realize his phone was ringing. Thinking it was Rhodey calling him back, he quickly accepted the call and put the phone to his ear.

“Rhodey?”

“Sorry, I'm not Rhodey.” A female voice asked over the line.

Tony blinked and looked down at the phone. Yep, that definitely wasn't Rhodey's number.

Feeling a bit off-kilter he put the receiver back up to his ear. “Uh, okay, who is this? How did you get my personal number?”

“My name is Carol Danvers and Fury gave it me.”

Tony blinked. “Fury, as in Director Fury? Why would he give you my number? I really don't need his help to get dates.”

Carol, apparently, snorted. “In your dreams, Stark. We need to talk.”

“About what?” Tony asked. “If you hadn't noticed, I'm kind of busy, you know, with half the fucking universe being erased.”

“That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Are you at Avenger's Compound?” Carol asked.

“What? Is Fury tracking me now too?” Tony asked incredulously.

“Fury's dead and I need you to open the gate and let me inside so we can talk about what happens next.”

Tony grabbed his Starkpad and brought up the security cameras and sure enough, there was a blonde woman in a blue fitted suit with a star on her chest.

“Are you some kind of superhero?” Tony asked dryly.

Carol looked in the direction of the security camera and levitated off the ground, eyebrows raised. “You tell me.”

“Holy shit.” Tony gasped out.

He punched a few commands into the tablet and the gates to the Avengers compound were opening and Carol was _flying_ to the entrance.

Tony shook himself and went to go greet her at the door.

Carol landed down gracefully just as Tony unlocked the glass door for her.

She walked in, giving him a once over. “I know I already introduced myself over the phone, but I'm Captain Carol Danvers with the US Air Force.”

Tony accepted the hand, feeling a little dazed. “Air Force, huh? My best friend is Air Force too.”

Carol gave him a half smile. “I like 'em already.”

Tony huffed a little laugh before sobering. “So, Fury is dead.”

Carol nodded. “He just managed to get off a transmission to me before he died.”

Tony gave her look. “And he told you to, what... Assemble the Avengers?”

“More or less. Have you been in contact with who's left?” Carol asked.

Tony rubbed absently at his chest for a moment. “Yeah, I just called Rhodey, he's the Air Force friend. The Avengers that survived will be here in a few hours.”

Carol beamed. “That's good and it gives us some time to talk about what Fury wanted you to do.”

“What he wants me to do?” Tony repeated incredulously.

“Fury trusted you.” Carol said.

Tony snorted. “Fury? Trust me? You're hilarious, Danvers.”

Carol just raised an eyebrow. “I don't think he tells just anyone to take control of the Avengers.”

Tony blinked before barking out a laugh. “Yeah, right. You're coming at me left and right with these jokes, give me a breather.”

Carol bristled. “It's not a joke. Director Fury called me back to Earth to help with Thanos and he said you were in charge of the offense.” Carol explained.

Tony shook his head. “No, I'm sorry but that's not right. Fury didn't even want me on the Avengers. He would hardly hand the keys to them over to me.”

Carol let out a huff and pulled out a tablet from a black zippered pouch around her hip, typing on it for a moment before handing it over to Tony.

Tony saw Carol had queued up a video on the screen. He raised an eyebrow before hitting the play button.

Fury was sitting in a chair onscreen his hands folded in front of him on a table.

“Stark, if you're listening to this, obviously something went very wrong and I'm dead and people are most likely in danger. I know we never saw eye to eye but we both had a common goal of protecting Earth. I know you would do anything towards that end, including re-initiating the Avengers team. I never thought I'd say this, Stark, but I'm putting the fate of humanity in your hands... Don't fuck this up.”

The video went black and Tony stared at the screen numbly for a moment.

“No pressure right.” Tony joked half-heartedly, because what the _fuck?_

“Look, Fury obviously trusted you and I trust Fury. If we are going to be able to fix any of this-”

Tony scrubbed a hand across his face. “Half of the universe is gone, how do you even begin to fix that?”

Carol gave him a shrug. “Kick the ass of the people who did it for starters.”

“I tried that and Thanos kicked all our asses six ways to Sunday.”

Carol smirked. “Well, he thinks he's won. Isn't that when the conquest is at its weakest? When they think it's already over?”

Tony felt the corners of his lips lift up at her words. “I mean, you aren't wrong, but he has the Infinity Gauntlet. He is the most powerful being in existence at the moment. When I faced him with only three stones, I only managed to get a scratch on him and they didn't have any better luck in Wakanda either. Now he has all the stones and we've lost half our defense. It's not looking great.”

Carol crossed her arms. “So, you're saying we give up?”

“No.” Tony snapped. “I want Thanos to pay for what he did, but we need to plan this smart. Because taking him on, as is, is a suicide mission even with all the Avengers in play.”

“So, we plan.” Carol said, sitting down in a chair and propping her feet up. “Hit him where it hurts and take the Gauntlet.”

“You make it sound so easy, but you haven't faced him.” Tony said warily.

Carol shrugged. “A genocidal power hungry asshole who thinks he is entitled to rule over people? Trust me, I'm familiar.”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “Now, that is a story I have to hear.”

Carol gave him a smile, pushing the tablet toward him. “There's a lot of information Fury left for you on the tablet. You should look it over before the rest of the Avengers get here.”

Tony sat down next to Carol. “Later. First, I want to know more about you. Namely how Fury knows you and how you can fucking fly.”

Carol smiled and began to talk.

* * *

The more Tony talked with Carol, the more he felt like he'd known her forever. Carol was a no bullshit type person and she had a strong sense of duty that Tony admired.

The two of them ended up getting some food and then Tony gave her a tour of compound. He tried not to think about how empty it had been lately and how in the next hour or so, he'd be seeing people he hadn't seen in over two years, apart from Rhodey.

Carol seemed to notice the change in his demeanor and elbowed him gently. “You okay there?”

“Yeah,” Tony said, blowing out a breath. “Just, this is big and I don't know what to expect. I haven't seen some of these guys in two years.”

Carol raised her eyebrows. “Two years?”

Tony nodded. “We had a... falling out over the Sovokia Accords, are you familiar?”

“A bit.” Carol said with a nod. “We get some news out in space and the Accords were a big deal on Earth.”

“Tell me about it. Anyway, sides were picked, lines were drawn and well... Here we are now.” Tony said with a brittle smile.

“You know this isn't going to work if you can't trust your teammates.” Carol observed evenly.

Tony huffed a deprecating laugh. “You think I don't know that? Everything is going to hinge on if they see me as the villain who advocated for the Accords and imprisoned them or as an Avenger.”

“You aren't a villain, Tony.” Carol said quietly.

“You were in space. You don't know what I did.”

Carol looked unperturbed. “I know you saved New York by flying a nuke into a wormhole. I know you fought Thanos and nearly died trying to save the universe. Those aren't actions of a villain. Besides, with that many countries involved, the Accords were going to pass with or without your help, but the collateral might have been worse if you hadn't been involved.”

Tony just scoffed, clearly disagreeing. “Look, you've known me for like five whole minutes, you're hardly the best judge of character.”

Carol's lips twitched. “Don't be so sure of that, and besides, if Fury, the most crotchety son of bitch who ever lived, believes you're a hero, than so do I.”

Tony looked a little shocked. “You shouldn't have so much faith in me. I wasn't able to stop Thanos the first time.”

Carol gave him an incredulous look. “Oh yeah. You just went to a completely foreign planet, coordinated with a team you just met and managed to make Thanos bleed.” Carol tsked. “You're right, shame on you.”

Tony rolled his eyes and was about to respond when he heard the tell tale sound of a jet coming into the airspace. Tony unconsciously stiffened before sharing a smile with Carol.

“Looks like the cavalry's arrived.” Tony said tightly.

The two of them made their way up to the roof where the landing pad was. It took a few minutes for the jet to land and Tony felt anxiety claw at his throat. Carol was standing next to him arms crossed and at attention as she watched the craft land.

Tony felt like he was going to burst as he watched the ramp slowly descend to the ground and the doors to the jet open.

The first person off was Rhodey who started running the instant he locked eyes with Tony. Something warm unfurled in Tony's chest as Rhodey threw his arms around Tony and buried his head on the crook of his neck.

“Fuck, Tony. I'm so glad you're alive.” Rhodey breathed.

Tony felt wetness in his eyes and shut them tight, holding Rhodey back just as fiercely. “Right back at you, Rhodey.”

Tony let go of Rhodey after a long moment even though he really didn't want to and focused his attention on the rest of the gang who had now caught up to them.

Natasha was alive. Her hair was dyed blonde and she had the smallest hint of a smile on her face. Bruce was standing next to her, looking immensely relieved. Thor had an eye patch on one of his eyes but looked pleased to see him too. When his eyes caught on the last person, he had to do his hardest not to react.

Steve.

He had a beard and his hair was longer. His uniform was different, edgier, the bright blue was now a deep midnight color and the normal white star was ripped out. And Steve was looking at him like...

Tony looked away before he could fully comprehend Steve's expression. Honestly, he didn't know and didn't want to dwell on it, instead looking back at the rest of his former teammates.

“Glad you all could come.” Tony waved a hand out to Carol who was still standing at his side. “This is Captain Carol Danvers. Fury called her back from space and now she's here to help us kick Thanos' ass.”

“Captain Danv- Wait, you're Captain Marvel?” Rhodey asked, eyes wide. “The US Air Force legend Captain Marvel?”

Carol looked amused, a smile tugging at her lips. “The very one.”

“It's nice to meet you.” Rhodey said, beaming. “I'm Colonel James Rhodes. Also USAF”

“Always good to meet a fellow serviceman.” Carol said, shaking Rhodey's hand.

Bruce walked over to Tony and enveloped him a hug. “Oh God, Tony. I was so worried. You jumped on that spaceship and then you were just gone.”

Tony felt his chest relax a bit at Bruce's concern. “I'm okay, Bruce.” Tony reassured, patting his back.

Bruce pulled back with a shaky smile. “It's good to have you back.”

Natasha moved closer and Tony looked at her warily, but her expression was soft and warm.

“Natasha.” Tony said evenly, not knowing if she would be angry with him still or not.

Natasha sighed. “Don't Natasha me.” She huffed and then she was hugging him. Tony was shocked for a brief moment before he rested his arms carefully on her back.

“Don't you ever do that again, Tony.” She whispered in his ear. “I thought you were dead.”

“I had to try and stop him.” Tony protested.

Natasha pulled back and studied his face, fingertips brushing lightly over the still healing gash on his forehead that complemented the myriad of bruising that was just now turning a greenish-yellow.

“I'm glad you're safe now.” Natasha said and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead and Tony felt his eyes sting at the gesture.

He gave Natasha a nod as she stepped back, not trusting his voice.

Thor came forward next, resting a hand on Tony's shoulder. “It is good to see you, shield brother. When I returned to Midgard and found you were missing, I feared the worst.”

“Glad you're here. It's been too long.” Tony said earnestly. He'd always liked Thor.

“Likewise, Anthony.” Thor said giving him a smile and then finally Tony chanced a glance at Steve.

Steve was staring at him and Tony swallowed past the lump in his throat, resisting the urge to rub his chest. “Rogers.”

There was a flash of hurt in Steve's eyes before he gave him a small smile. “It's good to see you, Tony.”

Tony had to dig his fingers nails into his palms at the use of his first name. Like they were friends. Like Steve hadn't lied to him about his mother's murder. Like Steve hadn't raised his shield above his head, ready to slam it down on Tony's-

No.

Nope. Not thinking about that right now.

Tony let out a breath that was only a little uneven.

“Right.” Tony said, turning back to where Carol and Rhodey were standing. “Okay, let's all go inside and we can figure out how we're gonna take on Thanos.”

“You're dead serious about that?” Bruce asked. “He has all the infinity stones. How can we even hope to take him on?”

“Half the people I care about are dead. I had to watch as every single person who fought beside me on Titan turned to ash. Peter died in my fucking arms-” Tony cut himself off, trying to get a handle on his emotions. “Look, this is probably a suicide mission and I'm not forcing any of you to do this if you don't want to, but I know if I don't at least try to fix this, I'll never be able to look at myself in the mirror again.”

Tony looked around and saw a look of steely determination from everyone. Thor's eyes looked actually looked a little glassy at the end of his speech as he nodded his agreement.

The rest of the team followed him and they talked. They swapped notes on their fights with Thanos and his army. Carol told them how Fury contacted her after his and Maria Hill's death and how he had appointed Tony as the leader in the offense to take back earth.

Tony was shocked at the lack of opposition there was to the idea of him being in charge, especially from Natasha who had once approved Iron Man for the Avengers Initiative, but not Tony Stark.

Tony didn't even look at Steve to see his reaction.

They made plans to call the rest of the superheroes they knew to see, one, if they were even alive and two, if they would join the cause. Thor said he knew of someone who may be able to help and went to go make contact with her.

By the time they had taken a break for dinner, Tony was exhausted. He was still healing from his fight on Titan and the more tired he got, the more his still healing stab wound twinged. The nanotech had done a great job of closing the wound, but he had still been impaled and the skin was still painful and tender.

Tony had eaten with Carol earlier and wasn't hungry. He hadn't had much of an appetite since- Well, _since._

Tony leaned his head on his hands and let his eyes fall closed and remembered just how bad of an idea that was when he saw Peter's scared face plastered on the back of his eyelids. He jerked his eyes open and instead, opened up his Starkpad. Reading through the mountains of paperwork and protocols of SHIELD was a good of a distraction as any but a voice had him looking up.

“Tony?”

Tony didn't flinch when he recognized the voice but he didn't look up either.

Tony pretended to be busy with his Starkpad. “What, Rogers? Did you forget where the kitchen is? Take the elevator to the third floor and it's right on the left.” Tony said with a dismissive wave of his hand, eyes not leaving the tablet.

“Tony, please. Can we just talk?” Steve asked.

Tony finally looked up at that. “Talk? You want to talk?” Tony said, trying to keep his voice even and failing. “Like how you talked to me about my parent's murder?”

A flash of hurt shot through Steve's eyes. “I'm sorry.”

“You already said that.” Tony said angrily.

Steve shook his head. “Not out loud. Not to your face.”

Tony buried his face in his hands and counted backwards, willing Steve to just go away and-

“Bucky's dead.”

Tony lifted his face from his hands and looked at Steve. He looked tired and his eyes were red like he was on the verge of tears. He looked defeated and resigned, like he was ready for Tony to strike him a blow. Tony remembered all too well what that had felt like.

“Was he killed or-” Tony broke himself off. He still had trouble verbalizing what Thanos had done, his stomach to lurched every time he remembered ash on his hands.

“He disappeared in front of me.”

Tony was silent for a moment, taking a deep breathe before responding.

“Then we can get him back when we defeat Thanos.” Tony said finally.

Steve looked at him, mouth slightly open and Tony huffed out the tiniest breath. “Look, I know he was brainwashed when he killed my parents. I don't- I don't blame him.”

“But then why-” Steve asked.

Tony stood up and walked over to Steve. “How would you react if you just found out that your parent's accident was actually a murder? That your father hadn't been drunk driving and killed himself and your mom? How would you feel if the person who pulled the trigger was standing in the same room as you? It was- It was a lot, Steve, but the thing that hurt the most was you. You who told me 'no more secrets', you who was supposed to be my friend, you who I trusted more than-” Tony cut himself off, biting his lip so he didn't say anything more incriminating. “So, I lashed out.”

“I didn't want to hurt you.” Steve admitted, taking a step closer. “I thought by not telling you, I was sparing you.”

Tony let out sardonic laugh. “Well that backfired spectacularly.”

“I know.” Steve said, voice thick. “I wish I could take it back. I wish I had just told you. But I can't. The only thing I can do is promise to never keep anything from you ever again.”

Tony still felt so hurt, but with half the universe gone and Steve looking at him so earnestly with those damn hurt puppy dog eyes, Tony felt some of his anger at him abate.

“When I was on Titan and it happened, I was scared about what I would find when I came back to Earth. And then I found out Pepper and Happy were gone.” Tony closed his eyes, swallowing around the lump in his throat. “I was so relieved when I heard Rhodey's voice, but then he said that not all the Avengers survived and I-” Tony gave him a sad smile. “I never wanted you gone, Cap.”

Steve took a breath. “When I heard my phone ring and the number was from the phone I sent you, I was so happy but then Bruce answered and said you were gone and I- Fuck.” Steve rubbed at his eyes. “You almost died on an alien planet and the last memory you had of me was of me lying and fighting you.”

“I hit you first,” Tony reminded Steve. “And the last thing I ever said to you was that you weren't worthy of your shield.”

“You were right.” Steve admitted softly.

Tony shook his head vehemently. “No, I wasn't. The shield is yours. When I said that I was... in shock, I guess. I thought you were gonna... I thought...”

“You thought I was gonna what?” Steve asked, eyebrow furled.

“When you raised your shield over your head, I thought... that was it for me.” Tony explained with a shrug.

Steve's mouth dropped open and he looked _horrified._ “No, no, no, no. Oh my God. Tony, no. I could never- Fuck, Tony, I lov-” Steve clamped his mouth closed, eyes widening.

Tony blinked and blinked again because-

“Wait, what?”

Steve opened his mouth but no words came out.

Tony felt a little shaky. “Steve?”

“I'm sorry.” Steve said with a wince and tried to move toward the exit but Tony shot out a hand and grabbed Steve's arm.

“Did you mean that?” Tony asked, his voice sounding strange in his own ears because there was absolutely no way Steve had meant it.

Steve bit his lip and gave Tony a nod. “Yes. I loved you for a while.”

Tony felt his stomach drop out from under him, feeling completely thrown for a loop. “I- um... How long?”

Steve looked a bit nervous under the intensity of Tony's gaze. “I don't know. Natasha said something that got me thinking after Ultron but, I...” Steve shook his head. “I didn't actually admit it to myself until after Siberia.”

_Siberia? The fucker hadn't actually figured out he had loved him until after all that?_

“Wh- You-” Tony spluttered for a moment before scowling at Steve. “Oh, you absolute fucking idiot.”

And then without another word, Tony was grabbing Steve's front and pulling him in for a kiss.

It took Steve a moment to respond, but when he did, he practically melted against Tony. Steve's lips were warm and soft against his, a sharp contrast to the beard that bristled him where it touched his skin. Steve wrapped his arms around Tony pulling him into him. Steve opened his mouth, letting Tony's tongue in to lick at the inside of his mouth.

Tony broke off the kiss, feeling the warm puffs of Steve's breath against his lips. Tony leaned back and saw Steve still had his eyes closed. Tony sighed against Steve's lips and rested his forehead on Steve's.

“I didn't even know you liked me.” Steve admitted, voice soft and reverent.

“I think you were the only one. Even Pepper picked up on it and I barely even talked to her throughout the whole Accords except for SI business.”

“God, Tony, I'm so sorry-”

Tony cut Steve off with a finger to his lips. “This has got to stop. I hurt you, you hurt me. I'm sorry, you're sorry. We both fucked up, okay, but the world all but ended and we're headed on a suicide mission so let's just... clean slate it, yeah?”

Steve frowned. “But Tony-”

“It's been two years. We've spent two years separated, licking our wounds, can we just bask in this before we all die tomorrow?”

“That's pretty dark.” Steve observed but there was a teasing note to his voice.

“It's the end of times.” Tony said, stroking a hand up down Steve's arm. “On a completely different note, what is going on with this full beard situation? Not complaining, it definitely adds to this whole rugged look you're going for.”

Steve huffed out a breath. “It helped hide my face. Made it less likely someone would recognize me.”

Tony looked amused. “Not to burst your bubble, but I think the outfit is a dead give away.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “I don't always wear this.”

Tony hummed, giving him a once over. “Well, what else do you wear?”

Steve blinked. “Was that a come on?”

“Please,” Tony said leaning further into Steve's space. “I've spent the last few years angry but still madly in love you with, Rogers. I think I'm entitled to a pick line or two.”

Steve's breath caught in his throat. “You're entitled to a lot more than that.” Steve said, looking at him like he created the universe.

Tony felt some of the remaining dregs of hurt leach from his chest at those words. “You can't just say things like that.” Tony protested but twined his arms around Steve's shoulders and kissed him soundly.

Steve opened his mouth and let Tony slide his tongue in. Tony explored the taste of Steve's mouth, moaning into it as Steve grabbed Tony's ass and lifted him up. Tony reflexively wrapped his legs around Steve's waist, getting lost in the warmth that was Steve.

The kisses now had a new edge to them, nothing like the soft, tentative ones from earlier. Tony nipped at Steve's lips as Steve pinned Tony to the closest wall.

Steve licked a sweeping line across the bottom edge of Tony's lip and then began trailing messy kisses down his jawline being mindful of the bruises marring the side of his face. Tony moaned and let his head thunk back against the wall. Tony ran his fingers through Steve's hair as Steve sucked hard on the junction between his shoulder and neck.

Steve got lost in tasting Tony's skin, his tongue gliding across the smooth muscles. He playfully nipped at Tony's skin with his teeth, soothing the ache with his tongue after.

“Steve, Steve.” Tony gasped out, sounding breathless. “We need to stop or I'm gonna come in my pants like I'm a fucking teenager.”

Steve placed an open mouth kiss just above Tony's collarbone. “Can't have that now, can we?” Steve teased.

Tony kicked him in the back. “We're not all super-soldiers. My refractory period isn't that great and if you want to do anything else tonight we should take this somewhere more private, contrary to the tabloids, I'm not actually an exhibitionist.”

“Well, then I guess we should take this to the bedroom.” Steve reasoned, but Tony could hear the slight question in his tone, as if he was still questioning if this was really happening.

“Yeah, yeah. Come on.” Tony said with a nod, nudging Steve's back to get him to let go of him.

Instead of letting go though, Steve just tightened his grip and began walking Tony over to the elevators.

Tony buried his face his Steve's shoulder. “Oh fuck, that's so hot.”

Tony felt the chuckle Steve let out at that, the vibration rumbling through his chest. Tony grabbed the back of Steve's neck and dragged him back in for another kiss.

Tony absently heard the _ding_ of the elevator doors opening, but Steve was already moving the two of them inside. Tony scrambled with the buttons, managing to hit the one for the fourth floor where the sleeping quarters were, before tangling his fingers back in Steve's hair. Steve finally let Tony down and pressed him to the elevator wall. Tony shoved one of his legs between Steve's and was rewarded with a sharp moan.

The elevator door rang out again and Steve and Tony were stumbling out of it. Tony had his arm around Steve's waist, guiding him to his bedroom door, which was a feat in itself with Steve toying with the waist band of his pants, his fingers dipping down and tracing the line of his hip bone.

Tony managed to turn the door knob on the second try and was opening the door. As soon at the two of them were inside, Tony was pressing Steve flush against the closed door, mouth on his again. Steve moaned and snuck his hands under the hem of Tony's shirt.

Tony let out a pained hiss when Steve's thumb brushed a touch too close to his still healing stab wound. Steve broke off the kiss immediately and withdrew his hands from Tony.

“What's wrong?” Steve asked, eyes bright with worry. “Did I hurt you?”

“You just got a bit too close to my stab wound, that's all.” Tony reassured him, diving back into to kiss Steve.

Steve twisted away from Tony's lips, eyes wide. “Stab wound? What stab wound?”

“Got it from Thanos in the fight on Titan. It's fine, Steve.” Tony said, trying to brush it off.

Steve frowned and started undoing the buttons on the front of Tony's, now fairly rumpled, dress shirt.

“Drop it Steve.” Tony complained but Steve had already stopped finally seeing the contraption in his chest.

“What is this?” Steve asked, fingers reaching out, but not sure they could touch.

Tony pressed forward, letting Steve's fingers touch the cool metal that housed his suit.

“It's nanotech, stores my suit. This way I always have it on me and can be ready to fight at any time.” Tony said.

Steve looked up at Tony in wonder and awe. “That's incredible.” Steve breathed out.

Tony felt a strong burst of pride rush through him. “It is. You want to see?”

He didn't give Steve a chance to respond and go back to fretting over him, instead just summoning the suit. He felt the titanium alloy hug his body in that familiar protective embrace. He left his helmet off wanting to see Steve's face.

Steve didn't disappoint.

He looked slightly breathless and his eyes were blown wide. “Wow.” Steve finally said.

Tony beamed happily. “It is pretty impressive.” He said, feeling a swell of pride for having sufficiently distracted Steve with his new invention.

Steve reached a hand out and ran his hand down Tony's arm. Steve gently intertwined his fingers with Tony's and looked up at him.

“You're amazing, Tony.” Steve breathed out.

Tony grinned, looking down at Steve, the suit made him a touch taller than him. Tony angled his head to kiss Steve but Steve was suddenly pulling back with a frown.

“You're still hurt.” Steve said, finally remembering just what he had been originally doing.

Tony rolled his eyes. “I'm really not.”

“Oh yeah,” Steve challenged, crossing his arms in front of himself. “Prove it.”

“That is the angriest demand to strip I've ever witnessed. Don't you know you catch more flies with honey than vinegar?”

“Tony...” Steve warned.

“Fine, fine.” Tony said exasperatedly.

The armor retracted and Tony heard Steve's breath catch at that. He filed that interesting tidbit away for later when Steve was being less of a mother hen. Tony undid the rest of the buttons with ease. Steve gently pushed the shirt off his shoulders and Tony let the material slide down the rest of the way. It landed on the floor with a soft rustling sound.

“Shit, Tony.” Steve exclaimed.

“Language.” Tony chided but quieted with the glare Steve gave him.

Steve was silent as he examined the wound. The nanotech had done a fine job of stitching it back together but the wound was still red and tender and would be for another week or so.

“How did he stab you through the suit?”

“I created a sword with my nanotech but Thanos broke it off my suit and used it on me instead.”

Steve's shoulders tensed and his lips tightened. “A sword?”

Tony nodded and then Steve was gripping Tony by the shoulders and turning him around. Tony could tell the exact instant that Steve found the wound on his back. It was smaller than the one in the front, but only slightly.

“Thanos impaled you and you didn't think that worth mentioning at the debriefing today?” Steve gritted out.

Tony shot Steve a glance over his shoulder. “It happened, it's over, it's nearly healed. I can barely even feel it unless someone pokes at it.”

“What about internal injuries? Do you need to go to medical?” Steve asked, a hint of hysteria in his tone.

Tony shook his head, glancing over his shoulder at Steve. “No. No internal injuries. I'm okay, really, Steve.”

Steve spun Tony around and for a brief moment he thought Steve was going to yell at him. Instead he kissed Tony. _Hard._

“Fuck,” Steve breathed out when he pulled back. “I could've fucking lost you, Tony. I almost did and you would have died thinking-”

“Hey,” Tony soothed, rubbing a hand down Steve's back. “It's okay. I'm here. We're both here.”

Steve hugged Tony close, being mindful of his wounds. “I should've been there. You shouldn't have had to face that alone.”

“You were here leading the defense here on Earth.” Tony reminded him. “It would've been a lot worse if you hadn't fought off Thanos' army in Wakanda.”

Steve didn't respond instead just closing his eyes and resting his head on Tony's shoulder. Tony could feel his own eyes drooping closed and he pressed a kiss behind Steve's ear before straightening up.

“Okay, big guy. As much as it pains me to say this, I think it's time for bed, and not the sexy kind but rather the sleepy kind.”

Steve nodded, which just further the testament that the emotional ups and down of the day had tired Steve out as well.

Tony shoved Steve toward the bathroom pointing out a spare toothbrush for Steve to use while Tony got changed into a pair of sweatpants and a wife-beater. He pulled out his biggest pair of sleep pants and a t-shirt, though he honestly had no idea what Steve liked to wear to sleep.

Steve emerged from the bathroom and Tony gestured to the clothes he'd set on the bed, telling Steve he was free to use them if he wanted before locking himself in the bathroom. He made quick work of washing his face and brushing his teeth, steeling himself for a moment before walking out into the bedroom.

His breath nearly caught in his chest when he caught sight of Steve. Steve was sitting on the bed, wearing his pants but having forgone the shirt and Tony got an eyeful of Steve's naked torso.

“Christ, how are you real?” Tony gasped out.

Steve looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Tony.” He admonished lightly.

“Forgive me, I haven't ever been able to stare so openly at your abs.” Tony said reaching out a running a hand across the hard ridges of his muscles.

Tony let his hands explore until Steve tugged him down into a kiss. Tony pressed Steve back into the bed laying his body over him. Steve's hands came to rest at Tony's waist and the two languidly kissed, letting their tongues lazily wash over over one another. Their movements slowly tapered off until Tony was laying his head just under the crook of Steve's neck, content to stay like that and let Steve's steady breath lull him to sleep.

Steve pressed a kiss to the top of his head and nudged him in the side. “Let's get under the covers.”

Tony nodded, telling FRIDAY to turn off the lights before sluggishly crawling under the blankets next to Steve.

Steve turned his body towards Tony, brushing his thumb across his cheekbone. “Thank you, Tony.”

“Don't thank me yet, we haven't even had sex yet.” Tony said, but his light words were contrasted by the feather light kiss he placed to Steve's knuckle. "We're going to have incredible make up sex come morning, just you wait."

Steve let out a laugh. "Does it even qualify as make up sex if we've never slept together before?"

"Sure it does." Tony said resting his head on Steve's shoulder.

It may have been dark, but Tony didn't miss the soft smile that graced Steve's face when he snuggled closer.

Tony pressed a gentle kiss to Steve's collarbone and intertwined their hands together. Tony closed his eyes and for the first time since coming back from Titan, he didn't see the dead on the back of his eyelids.

* * *

Carol caught the sight of a freshly showered Tony the next morning and smiled. “Looks like you and your ex finally made up.”

Tony's eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. “What?”

“You and Steve.” She elaborated with a smug look.

Tony glared at her, but then frowned as he remembered what she first said. “Steve isn't my ex.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” Carol said with a laugh. “You may still be bruised from fighting Thanos but I can tell the difference between a bruise and hickey and your neck is covered in the latter.”

Tony glared but couldn't resist adjusting his neckline modestly nonetheless. “We were never together.”

“Really? He was the only one who didn't hug you on the landing pad even though his whole demeanor screamed he wanted to. Plus, you all but ignored him during the whole debrief, classic jilted lover style.”

“Well, maybe...” Tony relented. “But this is a more recent development actually.”

“So, it took the world going to hell in a hand basket for you two to finally admit your feelings for one another?” Carol's eyes were sparkling with amusement.

Tony couldn't help the corners of his mouth twitching up. “Something like that.”

Carol gave him a brief smile before standing up. “Well, I'm happy for you two. Now, c'mon, we gotta get to work. We have a universe to save.”

Tony nodded, a new determination in his eyes. “Lead the way.”

* * *

When they finally managed to defeat Thanos, the first thing Tony did was lift up his face plate and kiss Steve.

There was various cheering and whooping from the rest of the Avengers, but Tony paid them no mind because they had won and Steve was here and they were okay.

“You're incredible, Tony.” Steve breathed against his lips.

“I want that in writing.” Tony said, stroking a gauntleted thumb across Steve's cheekbone.

“Anything for you.” Steve said lowly, kissing him again.

“All right, guys, pack it in, we still have work to do.” Rhodey grumbled.

“Honey Bear, we just restored half the universe. There is absolutely nothing that is going to stop me from grabbing Steve and having life affirming sex for the next three hours.”

“Tony.” Steve chastised, cheeks reddening a bit.

“I'll cover for you.” Carol said putting a hand on Rhodey's arm. “Go have fun boys.”

Tony smiled and placed a kiss on Carol's cheek. “Thank you, dear.” He said before closing his face plate and wrapping an arm around Steve's waist. “Now, let's hurry up and go before Rhodey and Carol start making out.”

“Pot, kettle, Tones.” Rhodey yelled, but Tony was already flying off, Steve's arms wrapped around his waist.

“I love you, Tony.” Steve said once they hit open air.

Tony smiled behind the faceplate and tightened his grip on Steve's waist. “I love you, too.”

(The two of them took more than three hours to come back and help with the clean up but who was counting.)


End file.
